Regularity and relaxed problems of minimizing biharmonic maps into spheres

For n >= 5 and k >= 4, we show that any minimizing biharmonic map from Omega subset of R-n to S-k is smooth off a closed set whose Hausdorff dimension is at most n - 5. When n = 5 and k = 4, for a parameter lambda is an element of [0, 1] we introduce lambda-relaxed energy H-lambda of the Hessian energy for maps in W-2,W-2 (Omega; S-4) so that each minimizer u(lambda) of H-lambda is also a biharmonic map. We also establish the existence and partial regularity of a minimizer of H-lambda for lambda is an element of [0, 1).